Right in Front of Me
by Annette-Rose
Summary: A moment remembered...a vow spoken...my typical Joseph/Clarisse fluff :


Disclaimer:

**Disclaimer:**

The usual bleat…borrowing characters from Princess Diaries Movies…storyline created from my own imagination…not making any money…pure Fan Fiction!

**Author's note:**

I want to thank Monker! It was her gift that inspired me to try my hand at another small PD fan fiction. Oh and thanks for Tiggs too; he's very cute 

This was inspired from a song…'Right in Front of You' by Celine Dion. It is a small attempt at entertaining myself in a bout of insomnia as I battle with tonsillitis.

**Right in Front of Me**

"Because you were right in front of me," Clarisse smiled, her mind wandering back in time.

_Clarisse was sipping champagne as she leant against the balustrade outside her room. It had been a long night of trivialities and foot kissing of the usual dignitaries, dragging out until almost 2am. And to think, she had to be awake at 7am…_

_Sometimes nights like these almost drove her mad._

_Queen Clarisse had said her formal farewells, given her last instructions to her ladies' maids, before seeking refuge on this moonlit balcony to unwind. It was here that Queen Clarisse relinquished control, allowed herself to slouch and become Clarisse…just, Clarisse._

_Clarisse finally felt she was beginning to relax when she sensed a movement in the air. She turned towards the doors to her private chambers to find she was not alone._

"_I knew I would find you here," Joseph spoke softly, silently walking out towards her._

"_Sometimes I wonder whether you know me better than I do," Clarisse chuckled._

"_Slouching I see," Joseph observed, coming to a halt beside her, looking out over the gardens._

"_Yes, well…I _did_ think I was alone," Clarisse teased._

"_Would you rather be left alone?" Joseph turned towards her, ready to follow instructions and depart._

"_Of course not," Clarisse snapped, scowling at him for such a suggestion._

"_Good; because I was only making an observation that you were in Clarisse mode, not Queen mode," Joseph winked._

"_It's refreshing to see."_

"_Well take a good hard look, dear Joseph, because it doesn't happen often," Clarisse smirked._

"_So I've noticed," Joseph murmured, gazing out across the garden once more._

"_Joseph, was tonight particularly dreadful, or am I finally going insane?" Clarisse eventually asked, setting her champagne aside._

"_You may rest assured that your sanity is intact as I believe it was a most tedious night indeed," Joseph grimaced._

"_In fact, I almost pulled out my gun to shoot the Von Trokens on several occasions."_

_Clarisse laughed; the light melody floating out over the garden._

"_Oh, if only we could swap our accessories for one of these nights…I would hide behind the dark glasses and keep all at bay with a gun in my grip," Clarisse sighed._

"_Yes, well…that may be a lovely thought, but I'd hate to think what I would look like in a tiara and heels," Joseph muttered._

_Clarisse laughed again._

"_Oh Joseph, this kind of nonsensical exchange is just what I needed to relax and wind down," Clarisse smiled, turning to stroke his cheek gently._

"_You seem to always know what I need."_

_Clarisse dropped her hand as Joseph's expression became serious; he was silent for a moment._

"_Yes, but do _you_ always know what you need?" he finally asked quietly._

"_What on earth do you mean?" Clarisse asked, her brow crinkled in confusion._

"_Nothing, forget I said anything," Joseph dismissed it with a wave of his hand as he pushed off from the balustrade._

"_No I will not!" Clarisse frowned, standing up straight and lifting her chin defiantly._

"_Damn, now I've put you back in Queen mode," Joseph muttered._

"_Stop talking as if I am two entities!" Clarisse demanded, her cheeks growing pink in frustration._

"_You must be tired to lose your temper so quickly," Joseph soothed as he moved toward her and boldly took her in his arms._

"_And you must be fairly sure of yourself to hold me so close to your previously discussed firearm," Clarisse muttered into his shoulder as she clung to him._

_Joseph chuckled, tightening his hold._

_Clarisse sighed, wrapping her arms around him and pushing her face into his neck. Joseph rested his head against her hair, breathing in her scent._

"_Again; you seem to always know what I need," Clarisse breathed._

_Joseph leaned back from their embrace, smiled and tapped her on the nose._

_Their proximity was so close that soon Clarisse felt her pulse quicken as her eyes drifted toward Joseph's mouth._

_Could this really be what she thought?_

_All coherent thoughts flew out the window as Joseph finally closed the gap between them, pressing his mouth against hers in a gentle kiss._

_The kiss lasted for several minutes as the couple familiarized themselves with the other._

_Reality soon struck home with Clarisse, however, as she pulled back with a gasp._

_It was several more minutes with her hand over her mouth, staring at him wide-eyed before she spoke._

"_Why?" was all Clarisse could say._

"_Because you were right in front of me," was Joseph's simple reply._

_He said it with such a heartfelt smile that Clarisse found herself leaning in again._

It was that moment that came to Clarisse as she stood in front of Joseph before the silent crowd.

It was as if destiny had pulled them both here to this one moment, this one alter which was not even initially intended for this particular pair. But then, Joseph and Clarisse always were quite nonsensical; the people were just not used to seeing their monarch as just a woman – just Clarisse.

Once they had stopped before the arch-bishop, and stated their intent, Joseph was faced with a simple question he had to ask. After all he had been through…

"Why?"

"Because you were right in front of me," Clarisse smiled, watching the recognition wash over his face.

"I know pronounce you, husband and wife."

The words had barely reached the outer seats in the church before the couple _finally_ completed their marriage with a kiss.

**A.N.2: Ok so what did you think? Too short and sappy? I'd love to get some feedback, as it will hopefully encourage me to attempt another long fanfic like the old days…**


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